Bachmann 37 windscreens the easy way?

[tractor_37260]

Yes, Mr Fox doesn't take criticism well....  But eveything from him always arrrives the next day, so not all bad.

 

Re Shapeways, here's the link. Bear in mind that the price is in Euros. Also bear in mind that they told me on 15th Jan that my items would be dispatched on 23rd Jan, but they in fact arrived on 23rd Jan.

 

https://www.shapeways.com/model/1241328/eth-connectors.html?li=shop-results&materialId=61

 

Thanks for the link.  I wonder if PH/shapeways could do a similar job for for the 37 nose end MU connector, the supplied Bach representation being long overdue a "retool". In the past I've used/re-worked cast Craftsman parts.

[Daddyman]

I agree with you. It would be nice, wouldn't it? I wonder if we can persuade Pete ...

[Daddyman]

Slow progress today as there was a lot of measuring and guesstimating to do around the fuel tanks - the sandpipes, the brackets - and also filling in the interiors of the tanks themselves.

 

Anyway, got the four sandpipes done. Quite pleased with them, though the lower flanges on the two left-hand ones might need re-doing.

 

A lot of trial and error. I did them first with 0.8 copper wire:

 

 

I think this is ok for 37077:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianews/5861369726/in/set-72157626899648349

 

but not for the 37/4s. I'm not even sure that 406 had sandpipes at every corner. 427 certainly didn't.

 

Finally, some progress on the BDA: masking of the stanchions before the pink goes on:

Edited January 25, 2014 by Daddyman

[tractor_37260]

I agree with you. It would be nice, wouldn't it? I wonder if we can persuade Pete ...

I'm pretty sure, they would sell in "bucket-loads"  

[CloggyDog]

Nice work but you might want to just use the whole etching as it comes without the separate mounting as the real locos have an 'etching-shaped' surround to the windows, as have the 40s, as per the loco in the attached link...(it's more visible on some than on others, some of the locos have the surround so well blended in as to be invisible).

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17309879@N08/6963575547/in/photolist-bBm9pn-9rjP95-briyMo-cWene3-cWenRf-atuPii-9jpSDv-bXZq81-9jsYaG-dLhZ4E-7FfKKP-atZg47-8dDLC4-dfcCjh-8gFqdq-8EbAAM-bBm9re-8fYxZB-7G96q1-7NCNSY-7G59Yv-7G4Vhk-eenkwo-dbZd2r-91ksHz-cfJpYJ-9uNSY1-drdZtx-e7J8Lz-dre33a-di893n-86Lmnw-7LPFGH-eZDBeB-9WuaAL-fUtAJA-aDaNrv-dhUy13-a692ds-d6Xceu-7G5act-9uNT2G-ehijD2-9uPrZg-e8pGif-8ES3om-db9Eoz-aHwCj8-aY8JBk-9S3EEX-7XLkpN

 

 

Nice work especially as it must have been an absolute nightmare filing the edges smooth without distorting the frames!

 

Paul

 

Would a possible solution be to use the complete etch as a template to score lightly around with a sharp blade to create the weld line, then cut the individual frames out and apply them?? Agree that the weld line does vary between individual locos (and even between ends on the same loco!)

 

Must admit, I do like the look of the way Daddyman's has done his Tractor cabs, very nice work.

[Daddyman]

Slow progress. A photo of the fuel tanks, the filling in of which has taken the past two days - lots of that setting time. Forgive me father for I have cussed. A song by Bjork popped into my head: "you know there's more to life than this, you know there's more to life than this, you know ...." True, but then Morrissey said "there's more to life than fuel tanks - but not much more." Or maybe it was more to life than books...

 

The little copper wire is a mod that only 37/4s seem to have had - to what end I know not. All my photos of it up close and personal at ground level at Corrour seem to have disappeared so I've had to guess from photos.

 

Here are the bogies coming along. They've now had their third coat of four (1. matt white, 2. maroon/yellow, 3. frame dirt). Coat number 4 will be a mucky black mix, much of which will be removed. Then probably some pastels for dust - cheaper, dustier, and better colours than weathering powders in my experience.

 

EDIT: note "bandaged" thumb.

 

Some progress on 6Y15 too - here's the BDA or BEA or whatever it is:

Next is the gloss varnish for transfer adhesion. Then trawling through Modelmaster (always first choice) and Fox catalogues to find transfers. (Fox have agreed to redo the 37406 nameplates by the way - good of them I thought.)

 

Then weathering of the deck and stanchions can start. Whole thing has been amazingly painless. But never count your chickens until your gloss varnish has set.

 

Finally, photo of the bogie - before:

 

..and after:

 

Look at the weathering on that thumb (pre-injury) - Tim Shackleton would be proud.

 

Bachmann axleboxes don't match the WHL BEAs/BDAs - and the maroon underlines that! 

Edited January 27, 2014 by Daddyman

[Daddyman]

Oh, and I forgot the best bit: remember those four sanding pipes that took all day Saturday? Refurbished 37s don't have them!

 

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Edited January 27, 2014 by Daddyman

[Pete Harvey]

Nice Plaster

[Daddyman]

Nice Plaster

Thanks! MRJ think so too - they want an article on it.

[Daddyman]

Last job for the evening - a bufferbeam transplant. One of the buffer holes at the no.1 end on my undeframe had split, so thought it easier to replace the whole thing. Photo also shows plasticard extensions to the bufferbeam sides - these will later be chamfered and cutouts made in them for the ETH fittings.

 

 

[tractor_37260]

quote: The little copper wire is a mod that only 37/4s seem to have had - to what end I know not. All my photos of it up close and personal at ground level at Corrour seem to have disappeared so I've had to guess from photos.

 

It's possible that this was some sort of "visual" gauge of the tank content level - then again that may well be nonsense 

Edited January 27, 2014 by tractor_37260

[Daddyman]

Not much to report tonight - was late getting starting and one bufferbeam has taken the couple of hours I had

 

Photo is a bit unclear as white plasticard never shows up well, but I've done the buffeream extensions and made a small mod to Pete's ETH connector on the RHS:

 

In order to represent this:

 

Tomorrow all the bufferbeams will get a coat of gloss orange prior to some sort of mucky colour the next day which will then be wiped off in my usual fashion to reveal the orange where it needs to be.

 

 

[Daddyman]

Mostly painting today, ready for the final push on detail.

 

Lots of ifs and buts in the photos I know: bogies on wrong way, absent wheelset, buffers compressed, missing fuel gauge on tank....

 

 

I want to check with undercoat (colour inspired by the 37401 restoration gallery!) that the tank cutouts are all neat and square before adding the (thankfully) minimum amount of detail.

 

They're more or less ok, just a bit of fettling needed, so have committed and cut the untouched tanks off the chassis under 406.

 

[Daddyman]

Remember those sandpipes I made that were superfluous to requirements on the 37/4? Well, I've gone and spent £100 on this so that my efforts are not wasted: 

 

 

So now I'll need to cut out another set of grommets and I've been thinking of an easier way of doing this. There is some distortion when cutting and shaping them, but usually I can gently press them back into shape using an untouched master as an pattern. However, in the 10 or so of these I've done, I did waste one, and it would be better if no tweaking was necessary at all. So I came up with this idea:

 

 

I soldered the frames to a piece of copper strip. I tinned the strip, held the frame on top and sweated it on to the strip without ever touching the grommets with the iron. Once the frame was soldered on, I cut out each window as previously:

 

 

Next I filed the grommet to shape under a strong light - where leftover backing is concerned, what the eye can't see the airbrush will.

 

Lastly, I sweated the grommet off the copper strip:

 

 

On this one - the first I've done - no cleaning up was necessary. This photo shows the back:

 

 

The grommet sits perfectly on 37022. All in all, the operation took 5 mins - less than it took to write this account. So I'll be doing it this way from now on, much less stress than the old way.

 

Meanwhile work continues on the fuel tanks of 406 - I've had very little time this weekend.

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2014 by Daddyman

[Daddyman]

Some work on the noses here, which I've decided to redo.

 

First photo: replacement Replica headlight; thinned-down and reversed Shawplan headcode blanking plate; plastic tubes for marker lights (awaiting trimming and broaching); lower (Vitrains) lamp brackets fitted but upper ones not until after markers trimmed; new MU socket bracket; new, repositioned ETH bracket:  

 

Second photo: opposite end with marker lights finished; masking tape being used to mark out position of upper lamp brackets (3.5mm from h/c box, in line with centre of tail lights):

 

Third photo: measuring thickness of "tail" of  upper lamp brackets in order to ascertain drill size:

 

Fourth photo: lamp brackets now fitted. It's necessary to "saw" a little with the drill bit in order to elongate the hole (the "tail" of the lamp bracket is oblong not round):

 

Fifth photo: window grommets fixed to sheet of plasticard and washed ready for spraying. I've experimented and it seems that I can paint the grommets before putting them on the loco to avoid having to repaint the full windscreen area of the body. Using varnish to attach the painted grommets to the body is no different from using varnish to attach nameplates - and as unlikely to cause damage to the paint finish.

 

In the photo the grommets are tacked to the plasticard with a tiny dab of superglue at two corners - a joint easily broken as anyone who's ever tried to superglue anything to a model will know. 

 

37406's grommets were, unusually, maroon, and two of those in the photo have had a first coat, while 37022's were the more usual black (rubber).

 

[D6775]

Looking very good!!

 

I should have remembered that only 37/0 and some steam loco's had those sand traps, We had some stolen off 37075 at one point, clearly to order!

 

I've been meaning to order some of Pete's ETH sockets for a while, out of interest what material did you have them printed in?

 

Al.

[Pete Harvey]

Al

 

The default material is FUD as that's what they were designed to be printed in.

[Daddyman]

Apologies for the silence over the past week - work has really been getting in the way of real life. A lot of the work at this stage has involved painting and undercoating, and I've been getting home too late in the evening to do any spraying. and then when I have full days at the weekend, they've been wasted on waiting for paint to dry. Plus the decision to redo the noses and a few other things has delayed progress.

 

Anyway, some photos. First up two views of 37022. This has had its grommets fitted by the method I mentioned in the last post - sprayed off the model and then attached by varnish, with some superglue nudged underneath with a blade in places. The photo shows that some paring down of the Bachmann windscreen is necessary. Incidentally, the scar on the nose end is where I've removed the horn grille - 37022 had its grille turned horizontal on this side at the number 1 end. Both sides will be removed in the interests of uniformity and then replaced by Pete Harvey's test etches, which are stunningly beautiful.

 

 

Next two angles of 406.

 

The grommets are fitted, for better or for worse. In the end I had to attach these unpainted, and spray the whole windscreen area. Do they look odd? The "forehead" above them is exactly the same as when Shawplan etches are glued on the top of the Bachmann windscreen - 2.2mm, but it looks higher here. Also, the grommets are slightly further apart than on the etch - 1.4mm as opposed to 1.05mm. This is in order to cover the outer extreme of the aperture on the Bachmann windscreen. I'm agonising over whether or not to redo it.... 

 

The redone nose can also be seen. This is at the "spray-check-fettle-respray-check-fettle" stage of undercoat at the moment, but looking better than the previous effort, which I did years ago and on which I left the Shawplan blanking plate too thick. At that time I also didn't alter the MU mounting or include the ETH backing plate - both of which I've now done.

 

The snowploughs also need revisiting. The relationship between the centre plough and the bufferbeam and the centre plough and the side ones doesn't seem to be correct. Ho hum.

[Daddyman]

Oh, hell, I've gone and done it! - I've moved the grommets in that 0.35 of an mm! Much happier now, can look myself in the eye again.

 

First photo shows the work in progress. The RHS grommet has been moved, while the LHS is still in the old position. I'm sure you'll agree it makes all the difference. Not!

 

 

The next photo shows me coaxing superglue under the upper edge of the grommet using the blade of a knife. For intial attachment I use Vitalbond CA Vital-O Foam Safe on the lower edge of the grommet only. Unlike any other superglue I've ever found, this allows adjustment, and you need a lot of that on this job. Once the Vital-O has set I put a bog-standard Expo superglue on the knife blade and slide it under the upper edge of the grommet. Make sure no glue gets on the underside of the blade. EDIT: note the masking tape being used to align the grommet: this is lined up with the extreme edge of the Bachmann aperture.

 

Here's me checking that the grommets are all aligned correctly. Note how the middle one is parallel to the nose top, and the side ones are disappearing at the same viewing angle.

 

Phew! Now for a lie down.....

Edited February 10, 2014 by Daddyman

[tractor_37260]

Some work on the noses here, which I've decided to redo.

 

First photo: replacement Replica headlight; thinned-down and reversed Shawplan headcode blanking plate; plastic tubes for marker lights (awaiting trimming and broaching); lower (Vitrains) lamp brackets fitted but upper ones not until after markers trimmed; new MU socket bracket; new, repositioned ETH bracket:  

P1340336.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

What size of plastic tube - ie outside dia have you used for the markers ? Your nose ends/grommets are looking the business painted etc - all very nice

[Daddyman]

Kind of you! 

I've used 2.5mm tube: 

 

roughly trimmed as a photo in an earlier post above shows; 

stuck in with plastic magic; 

left overnight;

next day trimmed with a saw (to avoid pinching the tube into an oval);

filed down;

and finally opened out with a broach and 2mm square file.

 

Hope that helps! 

Best....

[Daddyman]

Fuel tanks

 

Here I'm checking that verticals on the tanks are in fact vertical after all the filing, and that the indents are square - they look awful if not and they're a right so-and-so to get right. Even at this stage the two cutouts in the RHS (no.2 end) tank clearly need more work.

 

On the other hand, 406's tanks look about ready to go:

 

Test fitting the sanding gear - after all, having somewhere to display them is the only reason I bought this loco!

 

For the indented part of the fuel tanks I make a 40 thou channel 22mm wide and 4mm deep (depth can be trimmed later, as can width - though less so):  

This can then be cut into sections, ensuring that all the tanks are the same.

 

Next job is to fit these mounting brackets outboard of the fuel tanks:

 

I can't recommend Plastic Magic enough for how easy it's made this type of job.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Daddyman

[the penguin of doom]

Some very innovative work on the 37 Daddyman!

 

With 6 Lima 40 bodies waiting for replacement windscreens, it's an idea I might consider using myself.

 

Cheers.

 

Sean.

[tractor_37260]

Daddyman

 

A couple of perhaps silly questions:

 

Why use the Shawplan headcode plates back to front  ? - and not as intended with the supplied small cowling rings added ? 

 

Was the original Bachmann headcode plate + rings removed/flushed before adding the (thinned down) Shawplan etched plates ? 

 

Your rubber grommet mod is now on my to do trial list

[Daddyman]

Sorry for the delay tractor_37260. I use the Shawplan h/c panels back-to-front because they have indentations in the fronts for his etched marker lights - the "rings". Those rings are already too low profile, and the half etch indentation in the panels makes them even more so. With the tube method, if I used the plates right way round the indentation would show around the tube. Also, the indentations are a good guide of the thickness the plates need to be reduced by. Does that make sense?

The original Bachmann plates and rings have to be removed, yes. I can't stand them with those awful square corners and all bunged up with over-thick paint.

So it's a case of poor originals and not quite perfect replacements.

Good luck with the grommets. I really recommend soldering them to a backing plate and filing them there. And handle them very carefully afterwards to avoid distortion. Again, what the eye doesn't see, the airbrush will!

 

Progress has been delayed by this kettle, which I've been building for my dad/the NERA magazine. It's a Bradwell model. Goes together a treat.

 

I believe it needs something for carrying coal next (a tender, is it called?).

 

Some photos of progress on 406.  

 

Fuel tank detailing:

 

Completed bufferbeam:

 

Bufferbeam in progress, showing extra width, cutouts and relationship of ploughs to lower edge:

 

Finally, bulk-painting of Vitrains air pipes. I spray these yellow then the next day spray mucky black on to them, cleaning it off with a damp brush where I want the yellow to remain. In the photo, the top ones have had yellow only, the bottom ones are more or less finished, subject to touching up: